


Everlasting Loveliness

by 01blackcat02



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 10:30:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13996362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/01blackcat02/pseuds/01blackcat02
Summary: Summary: Two nerds discuss philosophy of love^^A response fic written for magiclaud on tumblr for the Valentine’s Day & White Day event hosted by the usuknetwork also on tumblr. Please read magiclaud's 'Lovely Logic' story first as this story is a direct sequel.As a side note, I never studied Plato’s writing until I read magiclaud’s fic, so thank you for introducing me to his work! I hope my interpretation of love was somewhat enjoyable to read.





	Everlasting Loveliness

They stayed in bed exchanging kisses and hushed whispers of adoration as the sun slowly made its way across the sky.

_“Will you be my Valentine?”_

Arthur had asked him just this morning, and how could Alfred refuse this beautiful man he came to love?

A gentle smile played on Arthur’s lips as he reached out and ran his hand through Alfred’s hair pushing back the cowlick from his eyes. There was something in that smile that Alfred couldn’t decipher. So he left Arthur to his thoughts until the Brit was ready to say them out loud.

“Do you think this is what life is supposed to be about?” Arthur finally asked after what seemed like hours.  
  
“In what way?” Alfred snuggled closer to Arthur and pressed an affectionate kiss to his forehead.

“Well…you know…love?” Alfred’s eloquent confession was still pleasantly lingering in his mind leaving Arthur too honest and vulnerable. “Humans desire to be loved. They seek it out even if they get hurt in the process. Is that just instinct or a longing in the soul for something greater than oneself?”

A romantic like Arthur had to be sure, but still, Alfred felt a bit hurt that his sincerity was being questioned so soon. It seemed so simple to Alfred, but the formulas which he found fascinating and logical seemed calculated and manipulative to Arthur. Perhaps knowing Francis Bonnefoy and his pheromone perfumes made Arthur more cynical to accepting love than the Brit realized?

“Hmmm…” Alfred hummed and turned to look up at the ceiling as if the answers to all life’s mysteries were written there.

Alfred remembered when he first saw him. A beautiful man in a room full of beautiful people, but something about him stood out to Alfred that made Arthur shine amidst the crowd.

They were at a conference with other top CEOs and high profile people rubbing shoulders with one other. Alfred grinned enthusiastically at some entrepreneur but a sharp laugh across the room stole Alfred’s attention. And there he was standing tall, confident, and beautiful to look at. Truly magnificent.

Alfred wanted him instantly.

It wasn’t until Alfred got the other man to come to his house and showed the Brit his many blackboards scribbled over with formulas for love that Alfred saw a glimpse of Arthur’s true self. His true beauty. The vulnerable hopeless romantic who wanted something deeper than the cold rational formula of attraction. A love that was pure at its core. A lawyer who saw the darker side of love and still believed in its authenticity.

_“…what is genuine in there?…only patterns…I don’t want to be part of the table’s results.”_

He almost left that night, refusing to give it an honest chance. As Alfred watched Arthur’s retreating back ready to step through the door and forget him. But, an intense feeling pushed the American after the Brit, and Alfred found himself babbling to Arthur something about control over feelings and perceptions trying to keep the other man from leaving. Still even then Arthur wasn’t fully convinced.

Alfred then knew that he found it.  
  
At first he didn’t realize how deep these feelings ran. Sure he had been with plenty of different people. Beautiful people. Intelligent people. All shapes and sizes, Alfred wanted to experience them all. They all had something new to teach him about himself and the world.

But Arthur.

Arthur was the key that made him really love the world for the first time. The love for their work. The playful banter over drinks. The deep discussions over lunch. A long stroll through the park bouncing ideas and arguments back and forth about law, love, and society. Museums. Art. Science. Their shared experience of being together.

And it was all beautiful to Alfred.

The ceiling gave no answers to Arthur’s question.

Instinct or longing in the soul? Did it even matter?

“I can tell you all about the algorithm to love,” Alfred said with a smile and chuckled when Arthur only groaned and sat up ready to leave. “But!” Alfred grabbed his partner’s shoulder and pulled him back down cuddling Arthur to his chest. “I know that’s not what you want.”

Alfred ran his hand over the slight curve of Arthur’s side. They really should get out of bed. The sun was beginning to slowly descend and Alfred was pretty sure they may have to order some Chinese food later.  

“I don’t think people truly understand what love is. They just call it love for the sake of labeling an abstract feeling. And that’s okay.” Alfred replied after some thought.

He shifted, wanting to see Arthur’s face. They were nose to nose, hot breath mixing between them. Arthur’s eyebrow arched in expectation, his mouth set in a slight frown.

Alfred touched those lips with his finger and gently traced over that frown.

“I don’t know if it’s instinct or something deeper, but we all want companionship, to belong, to be loved. Those are the driving forces to achieve perfection. We are imperfect, but when we fall in love we see that perfection we’re striving for.” Alfred started to stroke Arthur’s face in contemplation.

“But soon you’ll see that they are not perfect, and the illusion is shattered.” Arthur placed his hand over Alfred’s halting it. “It was a lie you made up to fall in love. Just like those formulas of yours.”

It wasn’t a lie. Not for Alfred.

Each time they were together the feeling that spread through Alfred’s body. A sort of blissful giddiness emerged when he was with Arthur. This feeling made Alfred feel drugged. He kept wanting more of Arthur. To devour him fully. To merge with his very soul.

But was it one-sided? The distance between them was there. In Arthur’s eyes, in his small smile, the gentle touch on Alfred’s hand.

Alfred suddenly remembered when Feliks told him about the Bonnefoy’s offer.

_“Are you planning on accepting?”_

Those words were hard for him to say. He watched Arthur take his drink. The way his Adam’s apple moved with each swallow drew Alfred closer as he watched his companion.

Arthur was nervous. He didn’t want to talk about it, and neither did Alfred, but he had to know. Alfred needed to know if he had to fight harder for Arthur. To work on this fragile thing they unintentionally started. If only Arthur was willing to meet him halfway and give them an honest try.

Alfred leaned closer and watched as Arthur did the same their lips barely touching.

Until finally they did.

It started to snow outside their window, the sun dipping lower towards the horizon.

“Even if the illusion is shattered I don’t believe it’s a lie.” Alfred said. “Because then, when you see the truth you can fully embrace it. To love it purely as it is. Maybe it’s the feeling of happiness that love gives which drives us for more.”

“Happiness in disappointment? There’s a lot of that in my work and most of them wish they never fell in love.” Arthur mused, long used to their conversations about the abstract.

“I think… happiness is finally knowing your own true self and love is to accept another as they truly are.” Alfred watched in delight as Arthur’s lips parted and eyes widened in understanding.

Both gazed at one another without saying anything, just observing the way the dim light from the window danced on their skin, the way their eyes blinked, and the slight twitch of the muscles on their faces.

“I want to experience the world to its fullest. I want to understand and appreciate it,” Alfred finally said. “I want to share it with someone who can also see and appreciate the beauty of it. A deeper connection. A blissful love. And I think that someone is you, Arthur.”

Arthur smiled widely, finding it difficult to contain his happiness.

“Look who’s a romantic now,” Arthur whispered and leaned in to meet Alfred’s kiss.

This morning, when Alfred woke up he silently watched Arthur’s sleeping face musing over the events from last night. It brought a sense of calm and peace over him. Happiness. The world could be gone tomorrow, but it was alright if only he could spend his last hours with Arthur.

“Will you be my Valentine?”

Arthur asked him.

Heart still pounding from the confession, Alfred was caught by surprise that he actually laughed. He completely forgot what day it was.

Arthur tensed and glared dropping Alfred’s hands to storm out in embarrassment and rejection, but Alfred quickly pulled him back into a deep kiss.

“Valentine?” Alfred repeated in amusement as he cupped Arthur’s face gently.  
  
“You refuse?” Arthur’s brows turned down, as he bit his lip in a nervous gesture.  
  
Alfred leaned in again and kissed his lover breathless. Arthur clung to him pressing closer until both needed air.

Out of breath and heart still fluttering Alfred laced their fingers together as he smiled widely.   
  
“I’ll be your Valentine every day, for as long as you’ll have me, my Arthur.”


End file.
